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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243458">Soul-Realm Cards</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxican/pseuds/Luxican'>Luxican</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Science Fiction &amp; Fantasy, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:55:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,760</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243458</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxican/pseuds/Luxican</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One day towers fell from the sky.<br/>White, their exterior smooth.<br/>The End of the World, the Apocalypse, the Judgement Day.<br/>Mankind was in a panic.<br/>Food was bought in bulks, people were killed because of the greed of others.<br/>It was chaos, almost like hell on earth.<br/>Until, the towers broadcast a message.</p><p>"Humanity's Judgement, Start!"</p><p>(P.S.: My first language isn't English)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 0.0</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"One day towers fell from the sky.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>White, their exterior smooth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The End of the World, the Apocalypse, the Judgement Day.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mankind was in a panic.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Food was bought in bulks, people were killed because of the greed of others.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was chaos, almost like hell on earth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Until, the towers broadcast a message.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Humanity's Judgement, Start!""</em>
</p><p>-<br/>The professor finished his lecture with a serious look on his face, "Does anyone want to add anything to this?"</p><p>His gaze wandered over the classroom; only a few students seemed to have really listened to him.</p><p>Only one student responded to his question: "Oh come on, we've heard that so often, Professor! Let's start the transcription already!"</p><p>The Professor's face darkened, he frowned and shot a glance into the back corner of the classroom.</p><p>"Mr. Eifer, this is important basic knowledge which cannot be repeated often enough. After all, it is the foundation of our current lifestyle," the professor with thinning hair nagged.</p><p>He shook his head briefly before returning to the blackboard.</p><p>"Now, if you are not interested in the beginning of our life as you know it, we will continue with another topic. I hope that Mr. Eifer will now be able to concentrate more on the lesson."</p><p>-<br/><em>"Soul-Realm Cards.</em></p><p>
  <em>This was the name given to these strange objects by the people.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Objects that appeared in more and more people after the message of the towers.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They looked like playing cards, but it was impossible to find two of the same kind in the world.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Many said that they originated from our wishes and dreams. Others said that they reflected the deepest desires of our soul, and that is how their names came to be.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>An unlabeled, white card was created on the 16th birthday, only with the transcription would it become a real Soul-Realm Card.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Students were asked to perform their transcription only within the protected space which is their class, after the first transcription, only complete cards would be produced. However, there was always the danger of a sudden ' Realm '.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>' Realm', the owner of a card was dragged into the world of that card to complete a task in it. Only after this trial could the strange powers contained in the card be used.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There were three different types of cards: Beast, Character, and Equipment.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Beast Soul-Realm Cards had by far the highest attack power and defense. Therefore, they were extremely useful in combat, but rather less so in daily activities. All kinds of beasts could appear, but generally, the more unknown and special the beast, the weaker the card, general descriptions were best.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Character Soul-Realm Cards were relatively rare, usually appearing as the fifth card. Every Character card possessed a special skill. The more famous the individual on the card, the more powerful they would be. However, they usually also needed to be supported by Equipment cards to reach their full potential.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Equipment Soul-Realm Cards were used to support Beast and Character cards, but they could also include the 'card player' in some cases. With these cards, crucial factors were the choice of words used to describe the item. Consequently, the comb of a goddess would be better than the comb of a simple peasant woman. The most common type of Soul-Realm Cards.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They all helped the 'card player' overcome the challenge, which was called 'Court'.</em>
</p><p><em>Court', as already mentioned in the message of the towers, judged mankind. The Elite, in other words, people with at least five cards, competed in various categories. The better the performance of a country's Elite, the better the people there would fare. While a country with a bad result had to reckon with several misfortunes. 'Court' was anticipated by the people as if it were the pre-apocalyptic Olympics."</em><br/>-</p><p>"But it is rather unlikely that any of you will become part of this Elite. After all, the average person only has 2 or 3 cards. Although... we have a relative of such 'card players' in our class," the professor concluded his lecture.</p><p>Facing the class, he could see that all eyes were on one particular student.</p><p>Januar squirmed under the intense stares of his classmates.<br/>His cheeks, neck, and ears were flushed, he tried to hide his face with his hands and hair as discreetly as possible.</p><p>The professor sighed softly. How could such a family produce such a child?</p><p>He had taught all the Stolz children, compared to the others, Januar was a complete disappointment.</p><p>He was chubby, unathletic, not very smart, and a little slow. Qualities that made him special were friendly, polite, reserved, and ... naive. Of course, he was a nice boy, but none of these were skills that would assist him in the life of his family.</p><p>The eyes of the professor wandered unintentionally into one of the back corners of the classroom.</p><p>Frederic Eifer.<br/>This student was in contrast, almost like a real Stolz. He was confident in his abilities, as athletic as one can be, always scored very well in tests, had leadership qualities, and remained true to himself no matter what.</p><p>Secretly, the professor hoped that Frederic would rise to the ranks of the Elite.</p><p>As for Januar, the professor took a quick glance at the blushing boy, it would be good if he could successfully form even one card without dying.</p><p>"Then let us now begin the transcription."</p><p>The students immediately turned away from Januar at these words and pulled white, spotless card blanks from their card pouches.</p><p>Nervousness was written all over their faces, and excited whispers now spread throughout the classroom.</p><p>All around them, they were speculating about what kind of cards they would get, what they would look like, or what property they would have.</p><p>"That's easy for you to say, your card will surely be something cool, some weapon or beast, haha!"<br/>A loud voice laughed and attracted the undivided attention of the class.</p><p>"That's right. Frederic is sure to get something totally badass, then he can join 'Purge'!" Another voice added this, which led to a heated discussion about Frederic.</p><p>"Stop it, you're exaggerating. My first card won't be much better than yours," Frederic objected, you could hear that he liked the attention a lot, and with a nasty twinkle in his eye he added, "You should be more curious about Jan's card, after all the first cards of his siblings were so special that entries in the card encyclopedia were dedicated to them."</p><p>Januar flinched at these words, immediately all attention was focused on him again.</p><p>"Pfff, what would he even get? A fork?" Sophie drew her red painted lips into a gloating grin, the whole class laughed out loud at her comment.</p><p>Januar was now as red as a tomato, yet he said nothing.</p><p>The professor uttered another disappointed sigh before calming the class again and telling them once more how the transcription would be done.</p><p>The hand that had hidden Januar's face was secretly clenched into a fist.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 0.1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Januar could feel tears welling up in his eyes.</p><p>They were right. They were all right.</p><p>He swallowed his sob, but it remained in his throat like a lump, making it difficult for him to breathe. His heart was hurting as he tried in vain to hide his card.</p><p>"And Jan? What is it? Let me see your card. We are all so excited to see how new and special the next Stolz Card will be!" With these words, Leopold, a good friend of Frederic, grabbed Januar's card from his hand.</p><p>Januar felt a cold shiver running down his back when the card was snatched from him. He felt hot and cold intermittently and had to swallow hard before hesitantly turning to his classmates.</p><p>"What? The Frog Prince? Pfff, what are you? A princess? Or the frog?" Leopold cackled with laughter and could not calm down, the other students joined in.</p><p>"Does that mean that when he kisses someone, he becomes pretty? Ewww, that's disgusting!" Sophie and her gang continued to pick on him, giggling.</p><p>Januar could no longer suppress his blush of shame, his cheeks began to burn again, his gaze dropped to his black sneakers while he tried to hide his face with his hands.</p><p>"Whoa, look! There are also intestines and severed legs on the back! What a psycho you are, Jan, hahaha!"</p><p>This comment caused another disturbance in the class. One after the other they made fun of him or called him names. He was really a frog, he was so fat, even if he found a princess in need, he would never be able to get the golden ball up, was that what he thought about in his dark little room? About organs and severed legs? He was just a pervert.</p><p>Januar felt a sour sensation in his nose, he was about to burst into tears. He looked to Professor Sotra for help, but the latter deliberately ignored him. Januar felt his heart tighten.</p><p>Slowly, one cool tear after another dripped down his burning cheeks until it fell on his belly, leaving a wet stain on his shirt.</p><p>"Now he is crying, haha. Is he really the princess? But I doubt that such a princess will find someone to kiss, even if it is only a frog. More loud laughter from his classmates.</p><p>Suddenly a bright light shone in the classroom and everything fell silent.</p><p>"What was that?"</p><p>"A 'Realm'!"</p><p>"Fred got sucked into the 'Realm' of his card!"</p><p>"Silence!" Professor Sotra put a quick end to the loud shouts of his students. He inspected the place where Frederic had been standing a short time ago: "Mr. Raster, please move all chairs and tables aside. Miss Greta, would you mind telling us what Frederic's card looks like? But don't forget to follow the proper safety instructions."</p><p>Leopold and Sophie stepped out of the circle formed by the students and quickly carried out what their professor had assigned them to do.</p><p>Leopold had a broad grin on his face, his best friend was sucked into the 'Realm' of his card almost at the same moment of his transcription! That was really unbelievable, not even the Stolz had managed to do so! He quickly put everything aside, after all, he didn't want his friend to get hurt when he returned.</p><p>Sophie was equally excited. Frederic and she had been eyeing each other for a long time, how great would it be if they both got together? The exceptional genius, Frederic Eifer, and she, Sophie Greta, the most beautiful girl in her year, truly a dream couple. It also so happened that Sophie herself didn't have such bad grades, if she was lucky she could also rise to the Elite!</p><p>With evident joy in her voice, she exclaimed: "Lupus Nocte! On the front is the profile of a wolf, the background is almost completely dark blue, only a narrow streak of a silver full moon can be made out in the horizon, unfortunately, I can't see the card's back.".</p><p>Many classmates drew a sharp breath before they began to speculate about how long it would take Frederic to join 'Purge'.</p><p>This had to do with the accumulated knowledge about Soul-Realm Cards. If the names of Soul-Realm Cards were derived from an ancient language, it meant that they were 'Growth' cards. These cards were extremely rare and practically only the best 'card players' owned one.</p><p>Furthermore, 'Lupus Nocte' was a beast card, they did not have much use in everyday life, but they were one of the strongest types of Soul-Realm Cards in battle. In addition, the Beast in this card was a wolf, and considering the varying meanings this animal possessed in different pre-apocalyptic cultures, it was actually only slightly worse than a Lion Beast card!</p><p>Professor Sotra gave a satisfied nod, Frederic had not disappointed his expectations. And Januar... when he thought of him he wanted to sigh again. He clapped his hands to attract the attention of the rest of his students.</p><p>"That would be the end of our lesson today. Next, you have Physical Education, where your teacher will give you fighting techniques and training plans suited for your Soul-Realm Cards," the professor turned to his briefcase, packed it up, already about to leave, he quickly added, "Don't you dare touch Frederic's card, or you will be expelled from school."</p><p>After the students politely bade their professor farewell, they all grabbed their sports gear while they engaged in animated conversation about Frederics and their own card.</p><p>Sophie and Leopold were especially often addressed, smiling benevolently, they answered the various questions of their fellow students, in addition to mentioning their own cards, which led to further excited questions.</p><p>Little by little the classroom emptied, the agitated conversations were soon quiet, only one person was left behind.</p><p>A quiet sobbing echoed through the classroom. Januar's tears ran down his cheeks, soaking his shirt as they dripped from his chin.</p><p>It felt as if every tear would cause his breath to become more difficult as if they were drops of lead that robbed the space in his lungs and heart.</p><p>Slowly, Januar lowered himself onto his chair and pressed his soft palms against his eyes.</p><p>His hands became wet, he could feel a cool liquid running down his arm and finally, under the sleeves of his black school uniform, down his forearms.</p><p>Suppressed, shaky breaths disturbed the silence in the classroom.</p><p>After a while, when he had calmed his breath a little, Januar began to knead his aching forehead.</p><p>His eyes were hot and swollen from crying, for a long time he just stared at the gray floor.</p><p>"I am truly the shame of the family..." he could feel that particular feeling in his nose again as he murmured that one sentence.</p><p>He knew, how everyone thought of him. He had been born into such a prestigious family, but all he could do was waste their resources.</p><p>He could see their glances, even those that were kind to him, they all pitied his family for having such a useless child. He also knew that Professor Sotra would never stand up for him, because he only took care of the gifted students, like his siblings for example. Nevertheless, it hurt when a person who was liked by all the other members of the family had such a harsh attitude towards only you.</p><p>He sniffled quietly one last time before he looked at his ComWatch.</p><p>The gym class would go on for another hour or so, he wanted to groan when he thought of the expression on his gym teacher's face, would he see what his Soul-Realm Card was, and the laughter of his classmates that followed, until he was finally selected for a training match, then, he would be like a punching bag.</p><p>He glanced in the direction of the card that was lying on the ground for a short moment.</p><p>Januar reached for his gym bag, step by step he left the classroom.</p><p>The hallway was silent. That was to be expected, after all, it was in the middle of the lesson.</p><p>The longer he walked, the more blurred his vision became.</p><p>His headache worsened, he paused.</p><p>What was wrong with him? Had he cried too much? Should he go to the infirmary? But he couldn't afford that...</p><p>The world began to spin. Januar lost its balance. He could see the tip of his nose closing in on the hard ground, while he was unable to prevent himself from falling further.</p><p>He tightly squeezed his swollen eyes shut.</p><p>Darkness enveloped him and sparks of light flashed like stars in the night sky.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 1.1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He stumbled through the corridors of the sports hall, drunk.<br/>
The ceiling lights were off, they shone too brightly, stinging in his eyes.</p><p>So he shone his way with a flashlight, which he had prepared purely for this purpose.</p><p>Its spot of light swung back and forth, shone briefly on a pommel horse then back on a mat, while he made his way to his sleeping place.</p><p>It was nothing new for him, automatically he headed for the changing room further back in the gym.</p><p>Swaying, he reached his destination.</p><p>Again and again, he lost his balance as he tried to get his keys out of his pocket and open the cabin door. For a long time, he was unable to insert the key into the keyhole. Irritated, he grunted when he finally succeeded: "Ya'see, wasn't that difficult after all."<br/>
Satisfied, he now wanted to open the door, but before he could do so, it was slammed shut.</p><p>He flinched, and despite his drunkenness, a cold shiver ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Slowly he turned his head around.</p><p>"Y-you, you!"</p><p>The words were stuck in his throat.</p><p>His cries of pain echoed through the abandoned gym for quite a while.<br/>
-<br/>
"This is your driver."</p><p>Januar opened his eyes to an unknown environment.</p><p>The sudden cold wind made his eyes water and the stench hanging in the air gave him the impulse to cough.</p><p>His eyes scurried back and forth in an attempt to ascertain his surroundings.</p><p>In front of him stood a somewhat small, thin man dressed in a gray suit with half-long, grayish hair, he couldn't see the man's face because his back was turned towards him.</p><p>Next to the man in the suit was another middle-aged man, but he was wearing a white (or was it silvery?) tracksuit with a red embroidered logo, unfamiliar to Januar. This man's hair was a warm, dark brown color, shoulder-length and curly, his eyes were bright blue. He was very tall, at least one head taller than him, so Januar had to look up to him, above his mouth, which was curled in slight annoyance, a dark mustache grew.</p><p>Januar froze, what was this fashion style? He had never seen anything like it before.  Nobody would dare touch it in his world and the hairstyle was quite... special?</p><p>He was sure now, this must be the 'Realm' of his Frog Prince card!</p><p>But wasn't the Frog Prince originally a fairy tale? Where were the princesses and castles?</p><p>While Januar was still busy thinking about the lost princess, the man in the tracksuit hit him.</p><p>"Are you mute? Or do you not want to tell me your name?"</p><p>It took a short moment for Januar to understand what the man meant, just as he opened his mouth, the little man in the suit interrupted him.</p><p>" Many apologies, Joachim, but you are free to call him Jan, is still relatively new in the business. He has not yet had the honor of driving such famous personages such as you, he is also a great fan of yours, Mr. Nowak..."</p><p>The tall man snorted, turned around, and walked towards the door of a long, big car (?).</p><p>"Well, move it!" the thin man had an angry expression on his face and gave Januar, or now more accurately, Joachim, a slight blow to the back of the head, telling him to move toward the long car as well.</p><p>In shock, rubbing the back of his head, Joachim hurried to get through the door of the car, Mr. Nowak, as the thin man had called him before, was already waiting impatiently for him. With a short gesture and a still annoyed look, he pointed to the seat with the steering wheel and many buttons and levers.</p><p>"Sit down and drive, we're already extremely behind schedule."</p><p>Intimidated by the expression on the face of this Mr. Nowak, Joachim hurried to the seat and sat down. Only when he saw the steering wheel and the various levers clearly, did he realize the dilemma before him.</p><p>He did not know how to drive such a thing!</p><p>He had driven in virtual car races together with his siblings, sometimes even with pre-apocalyptic cars, but he had never seen a car with so many buttons and levers!</p><p>"What are you waiting for? Drive!"</p><p>The loud shout of the tall man, with the fashion sense that took some time to get used to, startled Joachim and automatically made him twist the ignition key, immediately the car came buzzing to life.</p><p>" There you go!" The man snorted one more time.</p><p>Joachim clasped the steering wheel in front of him so tightly, his knuckles turned white, his heartbeat accelerating. Why did this vehicle have to be so incredibly loud and shaky?!</p><p>He now reached out a trembling hand to one of the levers, carefully pushing it towards the ground, the car began to roll backward instantaneously.<br/>
Shocked, Joachim stepped on one of the pedals, the car leaped forward, a short thump could be heard before he hastily pulled his foot off the pedal and pushed the pedal in the middle. His upper body was pushed forward, another rumble could be heard. Joachim sighed with relief, now he was happy to have put on that safety loop of that time.</p><p>"Are you kidding me?! Where the hell did you get your driver's license?!"</p><p>Joachim flinched hard and pulled his shoulders up in anticipation of another blow to the back of his head.</p><p>The lanky man had fallen from his seat during his sudden maneuver, and before he could sit down properly again, he fell to the ground a second time. There was a red spot in the middle of his forehead that was still swelling up. His mouth was twisted in anger, paired with his untamed mane and beard he looked like an angry lion.</p><p>Joachim quickly began to stammer an apology, but the man held on to his anger: " Save your pathetic excuses, when we get back from this trip I will personally see to it that you are fired! Unbelievable what they still hire as bus drivers today, and then for something as important as the trip of the national athletics team!"</p><p>Joachim lowered his head in shame, now he had ruined everything from the first moment on. The 'Quest' had demanded nothing else from him but to bring this vehicle to the right place, and what did he do? Would he now be stuck in this world forever and ever?</p><p>He could feel a deep panic and at the same time a strange satisfaction swelling up in him, like violent waves that were out to drown him.</p><p>"Oh, Mr. Nowak, don't be like that. You heard that he is still relatively new. Besides, he is also a fan of yours. Of course, he'll be a bit nervous then."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello!</p><p>I decided to post my story on AO3 as well because a friend recommended this site to me.<br/>I also post on Wattpad, ScribbleHub, and Webnovel.</p><p>I hope you enjoy this story and thank you for reading!!</p><p>(Also, Comments are very welcome!)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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